MINNEAPOLIS — After weeks of controversy surrounding quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the pair was in perfect harmony in the Minnesota Vikings‘ big win Sunday.
Cousins and Diggs connected on three touchdowns, which set a new career-high for the 25-year-old receiver, in the 38-20 victory over the Vikings.
This came after Diggs had expressed frustration over the Vikings’ offensive attack and hadn’t completely dispelled rumors that he wanted out. Cousins was called out for his struggles by former teammate and current Eagles linebacker Zach Brown.
But Cousins threw four touchdown passes en route to his second straight win over a team considered among the favorites in the NFC.
“Cousins, I think every defense is going to want that guy to throw the ball,” said Brown, who was teammates with the QB in Washington in 2017. “For me, that’s probably the weakest part of their offense, is him. Everything else is good. They’ve got a good running game, probably one of the best in the league. They have real good receivers.”
The Eagles, down to their second and third-string corners, won’t leave U.S. Bank Stadium echoing the same sentiments about Cousins, who finished Sunday’s game having completed 22-of-29 passes for 333 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and a 138.4 passer rating.
The Vikings quarterback routinely picked apart the Eagles’ porous pass defense, connecting with Diggs on back-to-back drives in the second quarter which resulted in a 62-yard and 51-yard touchdown plays. On both plays, Diggs burned Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas, who he was matched up with on the outside.
The deep ball was Cousins’ weapon of choice against the Eagles. The quarterback was 2-of-4 passing with two passing touchdowns of throws that traveled 30-plus air yards down field on Sunday. He was 1-of-5 with a touchdown on such throws in the Vikings’ first five games of the season.
Sunday marked the third time in Cousins career where he threw three touchdown passes in the first half of a game. The quarterback opened the first quarter by connecting with Adam Thielen for a 6-yard touchdown to cap off Minnesota’s first drive. In the first five weeks of the season, Cousins threw three touchdowns total in the first half of games.
The Vikings did the majority of their damage early and extended a streak of not losing a game after scoring 24 points in the first half, a mark that’s been in place since 2008.